January 2021
From the Minister’s Desk
Years ago, when our daughter Susan was a teenager,
January 6 fell on a Monday. So, at breakfast, I said,
“Susan, happy Twelfth Day of Christmas!” And she
said, “Dad, have a spiffy Epiphany!”
January begins with the celebration of Epiphany,
traditionally the day the three Magi or Wise Ones
arrived in Bethlehem to present their strange gifts
of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as a way of paying
homage to the baby Jesus. We don’t know exactly
who the Magi were. They were probably Zoroastrian
priests and astrologers (stargazers) from Persia
(present-day Iran). Amy-Jill Levine imagines them
as comic figures who seem a little clueless. She calls
them the first “fools for Christ.”
According to tradition, the gifts of the Wise Men
are said to be symbols that represent the future life of
the baby Jesus. The gifts point to the reality hidden
in the humble circumstances of his birth. They
foreshadow what his life is going to be about. Gold,
they say, is a symbol of royalty—his kingly humanity.
Frankincense represents his priestly role—the ability
to grant a blessing. Myrrh is an embalming spice,
representing his willingness to love sacrificially,
without limit—to love even to the point of dying.
As I mentioned in Sunday’s service, one interest-
ing Epiphany practice is to bless one’s house by taking
a piece of chalk and writing above the doorway a
series of symbolic letters and numbers. So for this year
that would be “20+C+M+B+21.” The numbers on
either end represent the current year—2021—and the
letters represent the traditional names of the three
Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. The letters
are also an abbreviation for Christus Mansionem
Benedicat, which is Latin for “May Christ bless this
dwelling.” As we gratefully move into 2021, you
might want to put those chalk symbols above your
front door, or simply write the letters and numbers
on a piece of paper as a kind of prayer for God’s
blessings in the new year.
Some Christian traditions consider the Sundays
stretching from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday to be
a “Season of Epiphany.” Other traditions regard
those Sundays as part of “Ordinary Time.” I used to
wonder why this period was so “ordinary.” Are they
the opposite of “special Sundays”? Are these “run
of the mill” or “commonplace” Sundays? After all,
I was taught that every Sunday is a “little Easter,” a
celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. So, every Sunday
is special. Then I discovered that “ordinary” simply
means “counted.” An ordinal number tells us the
position of something in a list. So, “Ordinary Time”
is a series of Sundays that are counted, as in second
Sunday after Epiphany, third Sunday after Epiphany,
and so on.
Epiphany and the weeks that follow invite us
to consider the epiphanies of our own lives—the
manifestations of light coming into the darkness in
our own experience, in our own lives. What are the
epiphanies of our lives, the joys and sorrows, the
moments of fear and moments of courage and
determination, the hopes and the fears? Epiphany is
about wonder and awe, the beauty of God’s glory—
even when it is found in the most humble setting,
a grimy and flea-bitten stable.
Wishing you a Spiffy Epiphany,
Tim
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Antiracism Forum Series January 10, 17, 24
Have a New Year’s resolution? At First Congrega-
tional Church of Evanston, we’re committed to
staying in the fight for racial justice. We invite you
to embark on this journey with us in a three-part
Antiracism Forum Series on Sunday, January 10,
17, and 24, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Zoom,
facilitated by Carrie Bradean and Sarah Petersen
of the Antiracism Task Force. Our congregation’s
antiracism work is grounded in educating ourselves
on our real history, understanding whiteness, and
learning from the scholarship and perspectives
of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color
(BBIPOC) leaders to inform our further antiracism
actions. Given that the main responsibility for
changing racist systems is on white people, the
primary focus of this series will be learning the
history of race in this country and unpacking
whiteness as a predominately white congregation.
All are welcome to attend; we invite you to come to
one forum or all three. Bring your lunch and come
learn with us! Look for more details on each session
and resources to come. For the Zoom link or more
details, contact spetersen@firstchurchevanston.org.
To learn more about our antiracism commitments as
a church, visit http://firstchurchevanston.org/about.
Superemos Update
Superemos, a beneficiary of First Congregational
Church’s mission giving in Nicaragua, sent an update
in December; it is excerpted here.
Thank you to all our friends who have helped us
over so many years now, especially those we won’t be able
to see next year as a result of measures addressing the
pandemic. We’re still hoping to organize a medical
brigade in February working with local MINSA health
professionals. At the moment we are busy organizing our
end-of-year activities, of which the most important are
the concert for the music education program and the
Purísima celebration. an important local social and
religious activity for people here.
In Estelí we were hardly affected at all by the very
severe effects of hurricanes that much of the rest of the
country experienced. People working on the community
programs here organized to send a dozen or so big sacks
of clothing to Alamikamba, the area worst affected by
hurricane Eta. The local municipal authority took charge
of distributing relief to the villages worst affected along
the Prinzapolka River.
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This weekend we are sending a small group to
Pearl Lagoon as a solidarity gesture in which volunteer
optometrists will work with local communities to ensure
people who need eyeglasses get the glasses they need. We
are very grateful to Dr. John Godoy for permitting us to
use a stock of eyeglasses he left with us earlier this year.
The local municipal authority here in Estelí is providing
transport, and we are sending some young people to
organize piñatas and cultural activities with local
children and adolescents.
While hurricane Eta affected mainly the northern
Caribbean coast, hurricane Iota affected practically the
whole of the Caribbean coast, causing extensive damage
as far south as Corn Island.
Looking back over what has been an extremely
difficult year for everyone everywhere, overall our
community programs had a great start to the year, were
badly affected between April and July, and then picked
up really quite well in the second semester. An example of
that is that our women’s secondary education program
benefiting low-income women in Estelí finished the year
with 93 active students, 17 of whom finished their
baccalaureate and can now go on to higher education,
with 76 of our women students continuing to study with
us in 2021. So with new students joining the program
in the new year, we should have over 120 women
students participating in our secondary education
program. Here we are optimistic that next year will be
a much more successful year for us all and for all our
friends and their families.
Everyone here at Superemos sends heartfelt
appreciation for all the help and support we have
received from your church over the years.
Happy Birthday This Month!
Connor Armstrong Ron Kucirko
Elizabeth Armstrong Joan Lindsey
Daisy Bagley Messiah McMillan
John Bezaitis John Metz
Michael Colton Miranda Metz
Elena Daniels Christopher Panek
Georgia Evans Joseph Roberts
Miko Test Fentanes Zoe Snider
Mary Greene Catherine Watkins
Linda Krei
A Look Back
2020 has been quite a year as First Congregational
Church adapted to many changes. From shifting to
online worship, to Rev. Ann’s departure, to finding
new ways to stay connected, we showed that the
church is more than a building and that our com-
munity is deeply linked by God’s Love. We continue
to express God’s Love in action, compassion, and
justice as we embark on 2021!

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